People’s Champion Finalist: F-Board

Start-up name: F-Board
Founder: Alister Gower
Started in: 2012
Based in: Dorset
Business description: Manufacturing business revolutionising the wooden scaffold board

The F-Board story:

Dating back to the construction of The Great Pyramid of Giza 4,500 years ago, the wooden scaffold board has certainly stood the test of time. However, despite its longevity, the scaffolding industry is looking to move away from the traditional wooden board towards a more sustainable alternative. Enter F-Board.

Designed to the same dimensions as the traditional wooden board to allow for an easy transition between the two products, the revolutionary product, which has been described as “the most significant change to the industry in 40 years”, is made from 100% recycled uPVC windows. 

With a number of clear advantages to its wooden predecessor, The F-Board reduces trip hazards due to its excellent non-slip surface, a win on health and safety grounds, and it is approximately one-sixth the carbon footprint of a wooden board. Furthermore, as the boards are manufactured, each board is a uniform weight and can be marked with a customer’s logo to help avoid theft issues and to enable the product to be lease-purchased by customers – to spread the cost. At the end of its life, F-Board will also buy-back the board to recycle it into new boards.

Whilst scaffolding has always been a traditional industry, unsurprisingly, the product has been welcomed and take-off has been rapid by those working in the power generation, construction, and food industries. The largest independent scaffold supply company has purchased F-Board’s entire first production run with a production run planned for early 2015 – taking production to 40,000 boards a month.

Similar plastic products have been attempted before and failed, but due to the tenacity and determination of the founders and a successful £1.7m crowdfunding campaign with over 50 backers, the F-Board looks set for not just national but global success as it plans to expand internationally.

Why F-Board made our 50:

Whilst scaffolding may not be the most exciting topic, a product that could genuinely revolutionise the industry is. Following a successful £1.7m crowdfunding campaign, F-board has won the support of its industry as well as large lucrative contracts and with international expansion on the cards, it seems scaffolding may never be the same again.

Where to find out more about F-Board:

Website: http://www.fboard.co.uk/